There is something wonderfully strange about aviation history. For every aircraft that became an icon, there are dozens of machines that pushed engineering in unexpected directions, solved a very particular problem, or simply represented somebody’s bold idea of what the future might look like. Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) Local Legends Pack 2 celebrates those aircraft, bringing together ten very different machines that collectively demonstrate just how inventive aviation has been. From helicopters and regional turboprops to enormous flying boats and an experimental aircraft capable of vertical take-off, this collection is one where almost every aircraft feels like it has its own story to tell.
Asobo Studio’s Microsoft Flight Simulator has always been at its best when it encourages you to explore rather than simply travel. Local Legends Pack 2 embraces that philosophy beautifully. These aren’t ten interchangeable aircraft with slightly different statistics. They represent completely different approaches to flight, so jumping from one to another can feel like learning an entirely new discipline. One moment you’re coaxing an old piston-engined machine into the air; the next you’re hovering above a runway in a helicopter or trying to understand why anyone thought putting twelve engines on a flying boat was a sensible idea. That sense of discovery gives the collection its soul.
A Collection With Character
The ten aircraft included here are a wonderfully eclectic bunch. There’s the Aero Ae 45 and Ae 145, the ATR 42 600 and 72 600, the Bell 47J Ranger, Curtiss C 46 Commando, Dornier Do 31, the enormous Dornier Do X, Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor, Saab 17 B, Short SC.7 Skyvan, and the Westland Scout and Wasp. Just reading that list gives you an idea of how broad the collection is.
Some are immediately recognisable to aviation enthusiasts, while others might have you reaching for the history books before you even start the engine. That’s part of the appeal. Local Legends Pack 2 doesn’t feel like a collection assembled solely around the most famous aircraft. Instead, it feels like a celebration of engineering ideas, practical aviation, and machines that deserve another chance to be appreciated.
The ATR aircraft are perhaps the most familiar to modern eyes. These regional turboprops provide a fascinating contrast with the older aircraft elsewhere in the collection. They may not possess the visual eccentricity of the Dornier Do X, but their inclusion demonstrates how aviation eventually evolved towards efficient regional transport.
The Joy of Something Completely Different
If there is one aircraft that immediately steals the spotlight, it has to be the Dornier Do X. Calling it a large flying boat almost feels like underselling it. This is an enormous piece of aviation history that looks spectacular on the water, and seeing it in Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of those moments when you appreciate just how ambitious early aircraft designers could be.
Flying the Do X is a very different experience from climbing into a modern passenger aircraft. There is a sense of mass and mechanical complexity that makes even basic manoeuvres feel like an event. The fact that you’re controlling a twelve-engine flying boat only adds to the spectacle.
Then there’s the Dornier Do 31, which takes the collection in an entirely different direction. This experimental transport aircraft explored vertical take-off and landing using a combination of lift engines and conventional jet propulsion. In practical terms, that means you’re dealing with a completely different flight envelope from almost everything else in the pack.
It is exactly the kind of aircraft that makes Local Legends Pack 2 worth exploring. You might never have imagined wanting to fly an experimental German VTOL transport, but once you’ve tried it, you understand why preserving these unusual machines is so fascinating.
Rotary Wing Adventures
The Bell 47J Ranger, Westland Scout and Wasp bring helicopters into the collection, and their inclusion adds another welcome change of pace. Anyone accustomed to fixed-wing aircraft will immediately discover that helicopters demand a different kind of attention. Hovering, managing the collective and controlling the aircraft’s movement require a degree of finesse that can make even a short flight feel surprisingly rewarding.
The Bell 47J in particular has enormous historical charm. It looks like the sort of helicopter that belongs in a classic film, and its distinctive silhouette makes it instantly recognisable. Flying it around the simulator’s enormous world gives you an appreciation of just how different helicopter operations can be from those of conventional aircraft.
The Westland aircraft bring a different flavour altogether. Their compact designs and military heritage make them particularly enjoyable for low-level flying, where you can get closer to the landscape and explore areas that would be largely irrelevant from the cockpit of a high-altitude airliner. That freedom is one of the great pleasures of Microsoft Flight Simulator. These aircraft don’t just give you new ways to travel. They give you new reasons to look at the world.
From Cargo Haulers to Regional Workhorses
The Curtiss C 46 Commando and the Short SC.7 Skyvan demonstrate another side of aviation history. These are aircraft designed for utility rather than glamour, and there is something deeply satisfying about flying machines whose primary purpose was simply to get people and cargo where they needed to go.
The C 46 has the unmistakable presence of a classic twin-engine transport. It feels substantial without becoming ridiculous, and its piston engines provide that wonderful mechanical character that modern aircraft simply don’t possess. It is an aircraft that makes you want to find a remote destination and spend time getting there.
The Short Skyvan is another wonderfully distinctive machine. Its boxy appearance might not win any beauty contests, but that is precisely why it has so much personality. There is something endearing about an aircraft that looks as though practicality was given priority over every aesthetic consideration. And once again, that makes it fun.
The Evolution of the Cockpit
One of the collection’s strongest aspects is how clearly it demonstrates the evolution of cockpit technology. The older aircraft rely on analogue instruments and mechanical controls, requiring you to pay close attention to the physical information presented in front of you. The ATR aircraft, meanwhile, represent a much more modern approach to regional flight, with considerably more sophisticated instrumentation and systems.
That contrast makes the pack feel almost educational without ever becoming a history lesson. You can jump between aircraft and immediately see how much aviation has changed within a relatively short period. What was once considered advanced technology eventually became outdated, replaced by systems that now seem entirely normal.
There is also something satisfying about learning the quirks of older cockpits. You can’t simply glance at a digital display and expect everything to be handed to you. You need to understand what you’re looking at, listen to the aircraft and develop a feel for its behaviour.
Built to Be Admired
Visually, these aircraft are superb additions to Microsoft Flight Simulator. The modelling captures the details that make historical aircraft so fascinating, from riveted metal panels and exposed mechanical elements to distinctive cockpit interiors and period-appropriate liveries.
The scale of some of these aircraft is also impressive when viewed from the ground. The Dornier Do X is particularly striking, while the helicopters offer a completely different perspective, as you can spend so much time operating close to the scenery. Dynamic lighting also helps the aircraft look fantastic when flying at sunrise, sunset, or in challenging weather.
Sound plays an equally important role. The different engines have distinct personalities, whether you’re listening to the rumble of vintage piston powerplants, the whine of turbines, or the unmistakable slap and mechanical rhythm of helicopter rotors. Those sounds make the aircraft feel alive before you’ve even left the runway.
Learning to Love the Oddballs
The only real weakness of Local Legends Pack 2 is also a consequence of its greatest strength. Its variety means that not every aircraft will appeal equally to every pilot. If you’re primarily interested in modern airliners, the more unusual historical aircraft may spend a considerable amount of time untouched in your hangar.
There is also a learning curve when moving between such radically different machines. Helicopters behave nothing like fixed-wing aircraft; the Dornier Do 31 requires an understanding of its unusual capabilities, and older aircraft demand more hands-on involvement. Some players will love that challenge, while others may gravitate towards the more familiar ATR aircraft.
For aviation enthusiasts, though, this variety is precisely what makes the pack so compelling. You’re not buying ten versions of the same experience. You’re buying ten different invitations to explore.
A History Lesson You Can Fly
What I particularly appreciate about Local Legends Pack 2 is that it doesn’t simply focus on aircraft that achieved commercial success. It celebrates experimentation, practicality and, at times, sheer audacity.
The Dornier Do X embodies the enormous ambition of early aviation. The Do 31 exemplifies experimentation with vertical take-off. The helicopters demonstrate the development of rotary-wing flight, while the Curtiss C 46 and Short Skyvan show how aircraft became indispensable for transporting people and goods.
The ATR aircraft then bring that story much closer to the modern era, showing how regional aviation eventually evolved into the efficient and familiar service we know today. Flying these machines back to back creates a surprisingly compelling timeline.
Verdict
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) Local Legends Pack 2 is another excellent collection for anyone who appreciates the history and variety of aviation. Its greatest achievement is how distinct the ten aircraft feel from one another. Whether you’re landing a Skyvan on a remote strip, hovering a Westland Scout over the countryside, coaxing a Curtiss C 46 through the clouds, or wrestling the gigantic Dornier Do X into the air, there is always another experience waiting in the hangar.
It doesn’t offer a traditional campaign or a series of structured missions, but that’s not really what Microsoft Flight Simulator is about. These aircraft provide the tools to create your own adventures, and the simulator’s enormous world gives you an almost limitless playground in which to use them.
Most importantly, Local Legends Pack 2 has character. Some of these aircraft are beautiful, some are practical, some are strange, and a few look completely bonkers by modern standards. Yet every one of them represents a moment when somebody looked at the limitations of aviation and decided to try something different. That is what makes this collection so enjoyable. It doesn’t just give you more aircraft. It gives you more stories to discover.
